Simplifying in the New Year Series: Purge and Donate

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This is the third post in our Simplifying in the New Year Series!

We have talked about clutter, organization and about chores, but another important way to make your life more simple is to purge and donate! Life is just not simple when you have tons of stuff! No matter how hard I try, stuff just seems to start to end up everywhere. I can’t stand to step into my daughter’s closet and find cheap plastic dollar store toys, happy meal toys, and stuff from birthday parties or church. These items I let them play with for about a week and then they know that they have to go!

Sometimes it can be hard to donate because you may have kids that actually play with all of their toys. This can make it hard to have them give things up. Or you may have clothes hanging in your closet waiting for that day that you can wear them again. Sometimes we just need to get rid of things and start fresh at another time! When I finally get around to filling up boxes of things to donate I feel so much better! Even my kids are starting to enjoy it now, and are realizing that they can play better without so many things getting in the way.

Donating:1. Find a thrift store you love that goes to a cause you care about:I personally don’t like certain thrift stores that I don’t know where the proceeds are going, some big chain stores I won’t name, drive me crazy. I love the little ones that go to children’s ministries, or crisis pregnancy centers or women’s shelters. These are usually where I find some of the neatest inexpensive items for my home. (but that’s a post for another day) Make sure you don’t go to make a donation and come back with the same amount of stuff you just dropped off! Find one that you feel good about donating too and that is close to your home or in a convenient area that you drive by often. It will make it easier to drop things off when you are out running errands.

2. Find an organization that will pick up at your house.We like the Vietnam Veterans of America. You can easily schedule a pick up online at Schedule A Pickup.com. It is super simple and takes just a minute to sign up. You pick a day they will be in your area and place your items out front and label them and they will pick them up rain or shine! this is great if you have LOTS of household items or bags of clothes. We like to do this after a yard sale with our leftovers. It is really convenient!

3. Clothes or blanket donations:If you have clothes, you can donate them to a church clothes closet or a homeless ministry. Many homeless shelters and homeless ministries are in constant need of blankets, sweaters, hats and jackets for the cold winter months.

Sarah is a wife, daughter of the King and Granola Mama to 4 children ages 16-5. She is a Charlotte Mason style homeschooler and has been homeschooling for 13 years now. She is still trying to find the balance between work and keeping a home and says she can only do it by the Grace of God, Coffee and Green Smoothies!

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